Collections We Manage

Collection Sampler

The Peaches of Miami Beach, Florida. A vintage postcard from the KBL Family Collection.

From the KBL Family Collection.

From the KBL Family collection. Keith B. Lile, tail gunner with the 321st/445th cleaning the tail guns of a B-25.

From the KBL Family Collection. An unidentified airman, 1945.

The KBL Family Collection contains a wide array of images and ephemera from Keith B. Lile who served as a tail gunner with the 445th on Corsica and in Italy between 1943 and 45.

From the HSB Collection of vintage postcards, 1908.

Bomber Boys

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An extraordinary traveling exhibit, now available for booking.

“Bomber Boys: Portraits From the Front” is now available as part of the Harbor History Museum’s traveling exhibition service. Developed in partnership with the KBL Family Collection, the exhibit features images and ephemera from the same bomb group as that featured in the class novel Catch-22. Specifically, these images come from the 445th bomb squadron, 321st bomb group, 57th bomb wing, of the 12th Army Air Corps, although they are typical of so many other airmen who served in World War II.

By far a lesser known history than that of the the 8th Army Air Corps, the 12th was stationed in North Africa, Corsica, and Italy near the end of World War II. They were responsible for the strategic bombing that broke down the supply line between Germany and northern Italy, a remarkable, yet little-known contribution to ending the war in Europe.

Based on a secret stash left behind by a tail gunner from the 445th, this exhibit presents striking images of the men who braved the skies above Italy, Austria, and the then Yugoslavia. Some men are identified by little notes made on the backs of photos, other images depict men whose identity remains a mystery. In every case, communities are encouraged to see if any of these men are familiar to them and their identities added to the show. Download the Bomber Boys (pdf) Exhibit Release.

Installation Photo Gallery

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Exhibit Schedule

Three-month bookings through the 75th Anniversary of the end of World War II in 2020 are available as noted below:

June 8, 2016 ~ Exhibit Preview (6-8pm), presented by students from the University of Washington Tacoma, Methods of Museum Interpretation class.